Karen Little

Dedicated to bridging the gap between the for-profit and non-profit sectors, Karen leverages her background in international relations, economic empowerment, and human development to drive positive social and environmental impact.  With a focus on equalizing the birth lottery, Karen has launched strategic mission-driven partnerships and built high-impact programs at PayPal, Kiva, and the American Heart Association.

At PayPal, Karen chairs the Charitable Contributions Review Committee and the Rapid Response Committee, while overseeing operations for the Social Innovation team’s donor-advised fund. She also leads collaborations with ecosystem and internal stakeholders, focusing on small business resilience, racial and gender equity, rapid response, disaster philanthropy, climate resilience, industry memberships, and thought leadership.

Karen’s passion for connecting people and resources has led her to live and work in diverse regions across the globe, including Asia, Africa, Europe, the Middle East, North America, and South America. Karen holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Human Development from UC San Diego, a Master’s Degree in International Relations from the SIT Graduate Institute, and has completed the altMBA program and IDEO U’s Creative Leadership program.